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The Georgia National Guard assists civil authorities in the state of Georgia in three primary ways: 1) Through the Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ), it maintains liaisons with state emergency management agencies and provides rapid response forces to assist with natural disasters or civil emergencies. 2) It protects critical infrastructure in Georgia such as power systems, transportation, and communications networks through programs like the Critical Infrastructure Protection Mission Assurance Assessment. 3) It supports other states through mutual aid agreements during governor-declared emergencies, and provides specialized response capabilities like assessing weapons of mass destruction and managing consequences of chemical/biological incidents.
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- 1. Defense Under the JFHQ umbrella, the Ga. DoD maintains liaison with Program. The CIP-MAA team works in conjunction with Support of Civil the Georgia Office of Homeland Security and the Georgia Emergency GOHS and GEMA and provides assistance, advice, and solutions Authorities Management Agency, along with key emergency and law enforcement for securing key facilities, and helps to identify and coordinate officials across the state. resources that might be needed in It is a primary mission of the The Guard’s Quick Reaction the event of a natural or manmade National Guard to stand by to Force (QRF) stands poised to emergency. The CIP-MAA program assist the state or nation in matters respond, on very short notice, to focuses on increasing protection of homeland security or natural provide DSCA. The QRF provides of critical assets within the state of disasters. That includes anything force protection and security for Georgia. The team is comprised of from fighting wildfires, to helping WMD Civil Support Teams and National Guard Soldiers who have with oil spills, to helping flood CBRNE Enhanced Response Force extensive knowledge and training victims, to assisting with riot Package Teams. The Georgia in offensive and assault operations, control. This is the “traditional role” Guard’s Quick Reaction Force is physical security, structural design, of the Guardsman – the image of the comprised of 132 personnel who are infrastructure interdependencies, minuteman with one hand on the capable of responding within eight cyber security, and emergency plow and the other on the rifle. hours and 500 personnel who can management. This role is essential to the respond within 24 hours. These are Guardsmen who Guard’s identity. Guardsmen will The Georgia Guard also plays a help look after the security of our always be there, prepared to handle major role in combating the threat communications systems, public these types of civil disruptions. of weapons of mass destruction works, transportation, electrical For that reason, Georgia’s National here at home through its 4th Civil power and water supply systems. Guard units are geographically Support Team. This team uses state- Homeland risk assessments have dispersed throughout the state for of-the-art technology to assess shown that these points of interest quick response. suspected WMD attacks and then are most likely to be targeted in the And the Georgia Guard is not just advises civilian responders on the event of another domestic terrorist defensively postured to assist civil appropriate responses to take. attack; so, clearly, the Guard’s work authorities with emergencies. The In addition to the CST, the Ga. here is vital to homeland security. organization assists with proactive DoD provides a layer of contingency And while it is perhaps well measures as well. The Guard has been response through the JTF 781 known that the Guard assists with on the ground fighting drug violence CERFP. This team can respond to fighting wildfires from the air for some time here in Georgia. The chemical, biological, radiological, through its Modular Airborne Fire Ga. DoD has an entire unit dedicated nuclear, or high-yield explosive Fighting System, it is perhaps less to Counterdrug efforts. incidents and can support local, state, known that the Guard has its own The Joint Staff, through the and federal agencies in managing fire departments. JFHQ, provides a community-based the consequences of an event by And, of course, one state’s response force that offers ready, providing capabilities to conduct Guard is always willing to help rapid support in defense of the state, casualty/patient decontamination, another state through the Emergency region and country. The Joint Staff medical support, and casualty search Management Assistance Compact, enhances mission performance and and extraction. which is a national mutual aid strengthens the care provided to Ga. The National Guard also provides partnership agreement that allows DoD members and their families Critical Infrastructure Protection- state-to-state assistance during by leveraging community presence, Mission Assurance Assessment governor or federally declared employer support and family care (CIP-MAA) Detachments, which emergencies. programs. Its auxiliary mission is conduct all-hazard risk assessments These are just some of the ways to transform the Ga. DoD to meet on prioritized federal and state the Georgia Guard is facilitating future and present federal and state critical infrastructure in support of homeland security within the states response capabilities. the Defense Critical Infrastructure and the nation at large. 31 | Georgia Department of Defense
- 2. Specialist Joshua Lee Cloer of Adairsville, a fire support technician with Calhoun’s Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1-108th Cavalry, reviews a map as Georgia State Patrol Corporal Shan Burnette explains the route upon which they are about to patrol. Members of Team 2 from 2-121st Infantry tow incapacitated vehicles out of the way so civilian emergency vehicles can get to the scene. First Sgt. Ricky Todd and Sgt. 1st Class Fredrick Gilyard help escort a critical care employee of the Georgia Regional Medical Center to their humvee over ice-covered roads. Vance C. Smith Jr. (left), Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner, and Maj. Gen. William T. Nesbitt, Georgia’s Adjutant General at the time, make an aerial assessment of the impact of the winter storm. Smith, Nesbitt and Terry Ball (not shown), hazard mitigation director for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, spent more than an hour in an Army Guard UH-72A Lakota helicopter flying over the metro Atlanta area and several North Georgia counties, inspecting road and traffic conditions. Sergeant Gillis of the 148th Brigade Support Battalion prepares the M984A1 10-ton wrecker for shutdown after arriving at the headquarters for the 2-121 Infantry Brigade. “A wrecker is a key asset for severe weather missions, but the ‘10 Ton’ gives the 2-121st the ability to recover heavy emergency vehicles, including fire trucks,” said Gillis. Ann Bellinger, wife of Staff Sgt. Timothy Bellinger of Alpha Company, 1-121st Infantry Regiment, and their children build a snowman to pass the time while Staff Sgt. Bellinger is away from home with his unit assisting others during the winter storm. 2011 Annual Report | 32